More changes ( email from Celebrity)

[patty1955]

2 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I believe the existing is 24 hours prior to the excursion departure time.  

That's our understanding as well

[kirtihk]

On 12/9/2023 at 9:30 AM, Cruise till you drop said:

People seem pretty passionate about this but in this really such a big change and such a big deal ?

 

Is this really an item being taken away from passengers ?

 

Not seeing this

In most mind it's not just this particular policy change but rather accumulative on-going negative (again, in most minds) changes by multiple cruise lines like removing gratuities from "All included" (Tips charged separately) package, one daily cabin cleaning, restaurant menu reduction/extra fees, removing butlers from certain cabin categories, increasing paid beverage package prices, increasing gratuities (NCL raised their gratuity fees effective January 2023. Sail on the cruise line, and you'll now pay $20.00 per person, per day if you are sailing in an interior, oceanview, balcony cabin or Club Balcony Suite. Other suites and The Haven see a charge of $25.00 per person, per day.), and so on.

[kirtihk]

On 12/9/2023 at 10:27 AM, LB_NJ said:

That is what I thought the policy was.  It does have an affect on cruises other than overnight.

 

If the excursion is at 1PM but the ship arrives at 6AM then the cutoff is now 6AM (before the cruise desk usually opens) 2 days before instead of 1 PM 2 days before.

 

Not a very big deal but an annoyance.

 

This really isn't any different than many shore based tour companies.

That's the major issue right here: most cruisers are annoyed so much by this statement, because a difference between cruising and shore travel was a major factor for those who enjoy the former.

[kirtihk]

On 12/9/2023 at 2:38 PM, prmssk said:

How often have you made those switches between 48 and 24 hours of the port?  How often does Celebrity open up new excursions in that time frame that are not the result of others’ cancellations (which will now be pushed back 24 hours with the new policy)?

 

I’ve canceled and booked new excursions plenty of times but never that close to arriving in the port. 

In this case why did Celebrity make this change to begin with (since it's so minor)?  If it's negligible for both cruisers and the cruise line, why to bother with this change, just to annoy people for no reason whatsoever?

[prmssk]

23 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

In this case why did Celebrity make this change to begin with (since it's so minor)?  If it's negligible for both cruisers and the cruise line, why to bother with this change, just to annoy people for no reason whatsoever?

I doubt it is negligible to the cruise line.  If someone cancels 24 hours before the start of a shore excursion, that gives the cruise line very little time to fill that vacancy.  It likely creates a lot of last minute headaches and juggling for shore excursion staff and tour operators.  Some of those passengers they find to fill the vacancy likely had other excursions booked that they then cancel creating a domino effect.

 

Additionally, if that cancellation means the difference between hitting the required minimum or not, that could mean the entire excursion gets cancelled which leaves other passengers scrambling to find a replacement.  

 

I get people's complaints about some of the other changes the cruise lines (all of them) have been making over the past couple of years.  This is one where I don't understand the complaint.  I just don't think it affects that many people unless you are one of those people who just want to keep your options open until the last minute (which isn't fair to other cruisers).  And honestly, it might be a plus to passengers who plan ahead.

[kirtihk]

5 minutes ago, prmssk said:

I doubt it is negligible to the cruise line.  If someone cancels 24 hours before the start of a shore excursion, that gives the cruise line very little time to fill that vacancy.  It likely creates a lot of last minute headaches and juggling for shore excursion staff and tour operators.  Some of those passengers they find to fill the vacancy likely had other excursions booked that they then cancel creating a domino effect.

 

Additionally, if that cancellation means the difference between hitting the required minimum or not, that could mean the entire excursion gets cancelled which leaves other passengers scrambling to find a replacement.  

 

I get people's complaints about some of the other changes the cruise lines (all of them) have been making over the past couple of years.  This is one where I don't understand the complaint.  I just don't think it affects that many people unless you are one of those people who just want to keep your options open until the last minute (which isn't fair to other cruisers).  And honestly, it might be a plus to passengers who plan ahead.

It's not just a complaint about an individual change.  It's accumulative disturbance.  This is how a person's mind work: if this change happened to be the first one within last 2 years, most likely, the majority of those who complain now would accept and validate it, and also be more patient in general.

[LB_NJ]

1 hour ago, kirtihk said:

That's the major issue right here: most cruisers are annoyed so much by this statement, because a difference between cruising and shore travel was a major factor for those who enjoy the former.

That is not all cruisers.  I tend to pick cruising for some of my vacations because it is less expensive than a comparable land based vacation.

[PTC DAWG]

4 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

That is not all cruisers.  I tend to pick cruising for some of my vacations because it is less expensive than a comparable land based vacation.

I find that to almost always to be the case…

 

This change doesn’t bother me at all, I don’t book excursions to cancel..I book them and actually go..what a novel concept to some on here complaining apparently. 

[prmssk]

16 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

It's not just a complaint about an individual change.  It's accumulative disturbance.  This is how a person's mind work: if this change happened to be the first one within last 2 years, most likely, the majority of those who complain now would accept and validate it, and also be more patient in general.

It's unfortunate when people can't judge a change just based on that change instead of lumping it all together with everything they already don't like about what is happening.  I would imagine that just sets them up for greater disappointment when they cruise.

[kirtihk]

18 minutes ago, prmssk said:

It's unfortunate when people can't judge a change just based on that change instead of lumping it all together with everything they already don't like about what is happening.  I would imagine that just sets them up for greater disappointment when they cruise.

I agree.  It's difficult, however, for an individual to focus on a particular item if it's related (like "cruise line's changes" entity) in a way to others.

[prmssk]

3 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

I agree.  It's difficult, however, for an individual to focus on a particular item if it's related (like "cruise line's changes" entity) in a way to others.

Maybe I'm unique.  But I just don't find it all that difficult nor do I feel like a reasonable shore excursion cancellation policy is really all that related to the menus in the MDR (as just one example).

[kirtihk]

52 minutes ago, prmssk said:

Maybe I'm unique.  But I just don't find it all that difficult nor do I feel like a reasonable shore excursion cancellation policy is really all that related to the menus in the MDR (as just one example).

Again, I agree.  My point (not my point of view but my observation of others' point) was any change is related in a sense of (as I previously wrote) accumulative annoyance, especially when people feel "offended" by thinking "I'm loyal to a cruise line for 20-25 years.  So, why is it so unfair to me with ALL these changes?".

Edited December 12, 2023 by kirtihk